A variety of devices exist for baking potatoes in an oven. Certain of these devices include metal racks equipped with upright spikes for impaling a potato. The spikes serve to suspend the potato above the rack to expose all surfaces of the potato to the cooking heat while at the same time conducting heat through the spikes to the interior of the potato to reduce cooking time. However, the spikes do not adequately ventilate moisture and gases from the interior of the potatoes. The presence of excessive moisture and gases within the potato can cause pressure to build up and the potato to explode. In addition, the spikes are sharp and if handled improperly can cause injury to the user.
Other metal racks have been provided with upright pointed teeth made of thin metal on which to impale the potato. However, the teeth suffer the same disadvantages as the spikes in that they do not vent moisture and gases and are dangerous if improperly handled.
The metal racks are difficult to store because of their irregular shape and presence of the potential injury causing spikes or teeth. This is a particular troublesome problem when the racks are stored in cluttered kitchen cabinets.
Recently, microwave cooking has become a popular alternative to oven cooking. Microwave ovens have become popular kitchen appliances and it is apparent that the use of microwave ovens will continue to increase. The metal racks used for baking potatoes are not suitable for use in microwave ovens because metals and other such materials are not microwave compatible. There is therefore a need for microwave compatible appliances that overcome the disadvantages associated with metal racks.
Cookware does exist that has been designed specifically for use in microwave environments. However, such cookware usually takes the form of a tray, pan or a rack made of microwave compatible material. Such cookware is unsuitable for the efficient baking of raw potatoes and the like in a microwave oven mainly because such cookware provides no mean for spacing and positioning the potatoes in a microwave oven for efficient baking.
In addition, current microwave cookware provides no means for venting the potato while baking and thus does not prevent the possibility of an exploding potato which hazard is much greater in the microwave environment than in conventional cooking.
Wyatt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,197 discloses a microwave compatible potato cooker in the form of a single piece ring having permanently upstanding blades with associated moisture and gas venting slots. The reference device is adapted to suspend the potato, thereby exposing a large surface area for cooking.
Despite the improvements over metal racks, the reference device is still a potential health hazard because the upstanding blades are always exposed. Thus, when the device is stored in a kitchen cabinet or the like, the blades present threat of puncturing or cutting the user.
Recently, polyetherimides have been developed and it has been discovered that polyetherimides and in particular, polyetherimide bearing the great designation Ultem.RTM.1001 and Ultem.RTM.1010 are virtually unaffected by microwave radiation.